The president sat in a comfortable chair. The person he was there to see, rushed across the country to see, was not seated in a chair. They were seated more like an animal, using their haunches, a trick most humans had lost. It had been a whirlwind of activity that carried him from DC to California with almost no prep time except what could be hurried along the way.

And he hadn't argued it. It was too important. "<Hello.> I speak English. I hope you can forgive me." Books on their strange language had not been written yet, let alone circulated.

"Hello. Yes, speak." Queen Novo smiled gently at the human in front of her. A male, she figured, older than the first that had exchanged words with her with his book. Her wings rustled lightly, the tension in the air quite noticeable. It was a meeting of the two leaders of their peoples, and they did not have the history that she had with, say, Princess Celestia. "We--" She wagged a talon between him and her and spread both out to gesture more vaguely. "have... much to talk."

The language barrier would be a real issue if they were going to discuss matters of policies. What could be a 'harmless misunderstanding' stops being that when it came to rules, laws, and regulations. The president brought his fingers together. "We are trying to learn your language. Can you send someone? A teacher?"

Novo perked at the word 'teacher'. "Teach language?"

"Yes, exactly." He nodded at her, smiling. Perhaps things would work out.

She considered her people and their educated. "Yes." There was a seapony she knew that would fit the bill more than Mobile Coral had. "Now, talk. You rule humans?"

What a question! "It's more... complex. No one rules humans. Laws rule humans. Humans make laws. Humans enforce laws. I am the last step in making laws. I enforce the laws."

She nodded softly along with his statements, waiting for him to finish before raising a talon. "What law?" That was not a word she knew.

He smiled faintly in the awkward nature of the moment. "If you have a crown, and I take it, would you be happy?"

"No!" She crossed her arms, balancing on her hind legs easily. "That would be <rude> at the <very> least."

"So you say no one should take other people's crowns. That is a law."

There seemed to be understanding. She nodded with clarity, and the conversation continued. The two were reaching out, and nothing was going wrong.

The guards around them watched the exchange, ignoring the fact that there were human guards in the form of the secret service as well as hippogriff ones all crammed into the same room. They didn't speak to one another. Words were for their leaders to share. They were there to make sure that was all they traded.

Twilight gestured at the small pedestal that held it. "This is one of their mini-cannons." She ran her hoof left to right over the length of the tool without touching it. "It is precisely machined, created with obviously advanced fabrication techniques. Examining it, I struggle to imagine anycreature was actually responsible for its creation."

She slapped a pointer that was held in her magic against a blackboard. "By that I mean it was created in a factory. Which also means this is just one of many. What I have taken is of little value to them, but could end dozens of good lives before we stopped the wielder."

She put a hoof to her chest. "I would normally not... jump to that conclusion so swiftly, but all the reports we've gotten already point to this. Many of them wield these things, or things like them." She brought the pointer over to tap at the rifle itself. "This is just one model of many, and that is... just a little terrifying."

Rainbow waved a hoof excitedly, the only militant pony present that wasn't wearing the proper army attire. "So, how do we smash them?"

Twilight rolled her eyes softly. "They're primarily constructed of a steel alloy. The specific blend is new, but the idea isn't. This matches up with the idea of an advanced industrial base. So, how do you smash them?" She tapped the side of the rifle with the pointer. "The same way you would any other metal object. Attacking the weapons directly may not be a prudent course of action. By the time you closed distance, there would be a worrying chance of being injured or worse."

Rarity stood up suddenly. She was dressed as about half the others were, in an off-white army attire that was fluffy around the neck and around the fetlocks. "In my new fashion, our soldiers should be toasty warm and a little harder to spot against snowy backdrops or an overcast sky."

Shining Armor nodded from his position at the front of the soldiers in attendance. "All very good. Do you have a means of... getting around this?"

"No." Twilight nodded softly. "There is no simple means of negating this advantage. What we can do... is counter it." She tapped at the rifle, pointing at each part in turn without naming those parts. "The basic design is new, but it uses precious few principles we never thought of before. We just hadn't put them all together so well and for such a specific purpose. Don't get me wrong, this is a marvel of technology that we wouldn't be inventing on our own for decades, centuries, or even longer."

She slowly smiled. "But... We don't have to. We have one. We have one and I suggest we can have more than one, quickly. In fact, I've already called in two manufacturing experts to make this conflict far more even-hoofed." She gestured towards an empty hallway.

The prompt was spotted and two unicorns stepped into view, wearing Rarity's new army attire. One of them waved forward dramatically. "Did you hear that, Brother. They need ponies that can get something built."

"Wherever will they find such ponies that can get things done quickly--"

"--Cheaply--"

"--And effectively!" They brought their hooves together in a loud hoofbump.

Rainbow tilted her head a little. "Really? Flim and Flam?"

Twilight coughed into a hoof. "I know they can do this. While they have been... involved in some interesting dealings, they understand how to manufacture things." She didn't mention the vision she had had when dealing with Starlight. Those brothers could oversee an industrial base, she felt certain.

Shining Armor stood up. "While this is interesting, those weapons couldn't possibly be used by any pony but a unicorn."

Flam was suddenly beside the rifle, sliding into position and running a hoof over its smooth finish. "As it is, this is true."

"Regrettable," agreed Flim. "Or it would be!"

"If you didn't have us." Flim and Flam both grinned widely as Flam continued, "we'll have a pony-adapted model ready shortly. In the meanwhile, we'll get to reproducing this little pretty for use by unicorns, dragons, griffons, and anycreature else with fingers that wishes to assist."

Rainbow pumped a hoof in victory. "I wanna be the first one to try it out, so let me know, guys."

Work began on all sides. While the United Equestrian Front mobilized for war with an enemy that required new tactics, America grew closer to a new ally in a strange land. The scholarly hippogriff brought from the waves was very uncomfortable on land, but the promise of such mysteries was enough to entice him forward.

He was allowed to visit the scientists in their den, his eyes wandering over their board full of theoretical linguistic notes. "Very close, but off." He grabbed a bit of chalk laying there and began doodling corrections. "You have many words for Leader, <Leader>. This is understandable. We do as well... Is one placed in the charge of a fan club, a community leader, or trusted with the well-being of a nation? There is a word for each of these."

The female scientist raised a finger. "We have more than a few words for the leader of a nation."

"As do we." He smiled a little. "We have much in common. Let's explore it. I will not speak your language alone. This is an exchange. <So we'll work both ways. Now then, I think I see a misidentification, bring me an> apple."

With his help, both sides made stronger strides towards understanding. A pamphlet started to materialize for both sides to be able to hold basic conversations, and with it, contact began to expand.

Further contact required laws.

The president mandated that such aquatic visitors would be considered non-residents of the USA, but were also not to be harassed, so long as they did not remain on American soil for longer than a month without proper immigration and VISA, just like any human.

What would it take for a hippogriff to get a proper VISA? That remained unknown.

The courtesies went both ways, with Queen Nova promising that humans could visit Seaquestria if they wished and were willing to become aquatic to survive the trip. She set a similar one month limit, barring official request to join her nation.

"Will you visit?" She was with the president. She visited often, trying to get their confusing situation under control. "It is not often an entire nation appears from nowhere. It would be an honor to host its leader in my palace, if you wished to attend." She was dressed in all her fineries. There was no need to be humble, and she was a queen.

A queen had to look impressive. Novo was not one to pass that up if the option was there. "You would look cute with a tail."

The president politely chuckled, though didn't seem in any hurry to become a mer-man. "I'm afraid my hands are quite filled with the matters of the state. You know how it is."

"I do." She nodded softly, a wry smile on her face. "If this wasn't one of those matters, I would not be here. Your country... is right in the middle of one of our ancient routes. I'd ask you to move it... but I should imagine that would be slightly impractical."

"Is that how Miss Coral arrived on our shores?" He imagined the young hippogriff crashing into the beach.

"She had intended to visit some distant friends." Queen Novo wove her talons together. "Daft little guppy forgot to tell her friends she had found something far more interesting. They've been informed now."

"Tell me, what do you export?"

"Export?" Novo arched a brow. "Ah, trade. We can procure whatever is in the ocean. Fish, shells, certain rocks and sands unique to the bottom of the sea..." She considered with a little frown. "Art, of course. Clothing, of the wet variety, jewelry and the like." She raised a talon. "Before you ask, we don't import anything. Seaquestria is capable of total isolation."

The president sat forward, head moving to where his hands met. "There are some that would be envious of that ability. We've been suddenly forced into isolation, and the shocks of that are rippling through society. We could ease that and offer new commodities to your people."

Novo smirked softly at the thought. "What do we stand to gain from such an exchange? As I have already said, we are quite capable of living without any imports, and only export when we wish to, not as a matter of requirement."

He reached and pulled a pen from his desk and gently rolled it towards her, thump-a-thumping as it came to a halt a few inches from the edge. "That is a pen. It works underwater and is entirely waterproof."

Novo approached it curiously, eyeing it with all due caution. "Powered by magic?"

"Technology." He shrugged softly. "But the difference between the two is only comprehension, they say. It requires no power, besides what was used in its manufacture. That pen could work in the void of space."

She took it in her right hand and tested the heft of it, giving a thoughtful murmur. Maybe there were things the humans had that could be worth a little trade or two...

Author's Notes:

America has no idea Equestria is preparing to enter this 'war' (that is only a war on the Equestrian side so far they know, so far).

Seaquestria warms to their naked little biped friends.

The only winners are the typos, my friend.